Robin: Boy Brawler
by StockersBlahBlah
Summary: Robin is out on his own, for once. With Batman busy taking care of Arkham City, Oracle caught wind of Black Mask planning an escape attempt, and it fell to Robin to deal with it. Rated M to be safe, bound to be cursing somewhere in there. As usual, follow and R&R, they keep me motivated.
1. Chapter 1: Track Down (Titles)

**A/N: This could be considered a stand-alone story, within Arkhamverse canon-continuity, provided people ignore the final chapter...if people choose to read the optional final chapter, this is set between my stories "**_**Bruce Wayne: A Psychogical Report by Dr Strange**_**" (based on Catwoman's alternate ending) and "**_**Contract Terminated**_**" (based on two side quests within the game) this story is based on Combat Challenges in the game.**

Arkham City was quiet, oddly, and it unnerved the Boy Wonder to no end. He leapt across rooftops towards the Sionis steel mill, avoiding the eyes and wide, sweeping red arks of sniper rifles. He landed hard on a warehouse rooftop and ducked into some shadows as a red beam of light angled his way.

He held his breath and watched the thug in the distance, and let it out when he moved to the opposite railing of his watch tower.  
"O?" He asked after activating his communicator.  
There was a pause on the line, "…._I'm here...whats up?_"  
"What was the intel on Black Mask?" He asked.  
Oracle sighed softly, "_He's holed himself up in the Falcone meat packing and shipping plant, it's about 500 feet to the east...your right._" She said; her tone unsure and uneasy.

"Right. Okay." Robin replied, and straightened. "Everything okay, O?" He asked with a small smirk from under his hood.

"_It's fine,_" Oracle replied, a little too quickly, then sighed. "_Have you talked to Bruce since…_"  
"Since everything went crazy in here?" Robin asked, and then faltered, "Well…more crazy than usual? No…I haven't." he answered.  
"_You should…and soon, before things get any worse._"  
Robin hummed, disregarding her request and raising a hand to the communicator to turn it off, "I'll contact you if I need you," he said.  
"_Tim, wait-_" Oracle started, but was cut off as Robin disconnected the communicator. "Time to go to work, Tim." He said to himself before jumping off the building.

_Batman:__ Robin: Boy Brawler_

Starring

Troy Baker as _**Robin/Tim Drake**_

Kimberly Brooks as _**Oracle/Barbara Gordon**_

Nolan North as _**Black Mask/Roman Sionis**_

Written by

StockersBlahBlah

DISCLAIMERS;

Based on characters created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, among others.

Based on _Batman: Arkham City_ and the _Robin DLC Bundle_ created by Paul Dini, Rocksteady Studios.

All characters and material owned by DC Comics, Warner Brothers and Rocksteady. I merely own this idea.


	2. Chapter 2: Sionis Industries

The meat packing plant was cold, a lot of the meat kept on ice to preserve its nutritional value. Robin crept through what felt like miles of freezing cold ventilation systems, possibly getting lost, if it weren't for the mini map on his heads-up-display, guiding him to the main packing floor.  
As he finally reached the over-head ventilation system of the main floor, he could hear and see Black Mask's thugs moving around the packing floor. Armed, dangerous. No doubt joined from Penguin's gang, upon the crime-boss' disappearance after Batman dealt with him during the Protocol 10 incident.

"Alright, you bozo's," a sharp, gravelly voice roared from an office.  
Robin stopped and turned, looking through a grate towards the source, and a tall, muscular guy, appeared in a window at the head of the room, wearing a white shirt, slacks, with tatty old tie and a shoulder-holster for his two, very shiny, pistols. _Black Mask_.  
"The train's on its way, this is where we get outta this town. Lock this place down and get the weapons ready for transport," he snapped.  
"Yes sir, Mister Mask." The thugs replied, and started shifting boxes onto the train carriage.

Robin's jaw clenched, and he counted 6 thugs still moving around the floor, guarding the process. Clearly, they expected a party-crasher, but was it a bird-shaped crasher? Or a bat-shaped crasher?  
He continued along until he found a small room he could climb out of the duct, and shook himself to spread some warmth back into his bones. The middle of winter, in a meat packing plant? These guys were mad to join up with Black Mask, but then again, it meant a ticket out of Arkham City. Even Tim had to admit, he would take it.

Using his thermal imager, he picked out the nearest thug and sprayed the iconic R symbol onto a weak wall, and took cover behind a desk as he waited for the proximity alert to flash on his HUD. He didn't have to wait long. The entire room shook with the explosion and the thugs screams were drowned by the deafening blow. He moved quickly, ducking out of the room through the smoke and grappled up to a cluster of industrial lights high above.  
He took a deep breath.  
"Find out who's screaming!" Blask Mask roared from the office, and his thugs, who had reluctantly been heading towards the explosion, moved a little faster.

"Hey, boss? Tony's down!" one thug roared as he sifted through the rubble and checked the Tony's pulse. "He's alive…looks like some kinda explosion."  
"Grenades?" another thug asked.  
"Nah, man, that ain't the Bat's style." The first replied, and stood, looking around. "Boss! It's the Bat!"  
Robin frowned, looked up at Mask.  
"Find 'im! KILL 'IM!" he roared.  
Robin, now feeling rather disgruntled, grappled to another cluster of lights on the opposing wall and scanned the room once more.

The thugs started moving off around the room again, searching offices and peeking over railings to the floor below. He took out a Shiruken and flung it across the room, perfectly timed, aimed and executed to ricochet off a door frame, into an office, and into the back of a thug's head. As several of the thugs raced off to investigate and help their dazed colleague to his feet, Robin dropped down behind a lonely thug, and twirled his cane through the air, extending it, turned so he was back-to-back with the unfortunate criminal, and drew the staff across his neck, pulling him over his shoulder, sharply onto the cold, unforgiving metal walkway, and knocked him out with a loud crack.  
He dropped a Shiruken onto the ground beside the unconscious body and retreated into the shadows above.  
"_R_?" one of the thugs called.  
"SHIT!" Mask roared. "It's Robin."

"_So glad you know my work._" Robin's voice echoed around the room.  
Guns drew and cocked instantly, the sound was enough to draw a smirk across the young vigilante's lips.  
"_I was beginning to feel a little side-lined._" He admitted.  
"Listen to me, you worthless fuckheads," Blask Mask ordered from the window. "Find that little feathered son-of-a-bitch and clip his freakin' wings," he snapped, "I don't need to tell you the consequences now, do I?" he asked.  
"Uh, no sir!" the thugs chorused.

Robin smirked and glided down to an unprotected area.  
"THERE HE IS!" A spooked thug cried and fired his gun, a wide spray of bullets clipping the edges of Robin's cape, the wall behind the young hero, and finally the wall behind him.  
Robin let out a small sigh of relief and ducked behind some machinery.  
One of the Thugs appeared, jumping down from the walkway above, and looked around.  
"Where are you!?" He yelled wildly, fear evident in his voice.

Robin's thermal imager allowed him to watch the thug through the machine, and leapt out, taking his staff from its clip and activating the shield, which sprouted from it, and moved towards his enemy.  
The thug yelped and fired instinctively, a bullet scraping Robin's thigh, making the Boy Wonder gasp and lunge forward, hitting the thug and stunning him. The shield retracted and Robin twirled it, hitting the guy repeatedly before grabbing his shoulder and tugging him forwards, attaching a device to his shoulder, and pushing him over.  
The thug yelled out, finally attracting attention. Robin ducked into a nearby vent in the wall and crawled through it.

He emerged in an office, panting a little. He reached behind him, into a pocket of his belt and retrieved a small syringe, and injected a mix of morphine and adrenaline into his system. He waited a couple of seconds and then reactivated his communicator.  
"Oracle?" He said.  
"_Robin! What's wrong?_" She asked, noticing his vitals increasing.  
"I got clipped. Nothing major. Flesh wound..." he chuckled lightly.  
He could tell Oracle was frowning. "_Did you find Black Mask?_"

Robin panted softly, "Yeah, he's guarded. These guys are wearing his masks, but old Two-Face and Penguin gang uniforms underneath." He told her. "I got here, they're readying weapons caches to be moved onto a train, which Mask says is their chance to leave Arkham City."  
"_The old Gotham rail system has started running again, but only the elevated system. It has no stops in Arkham City._"  
"It does now." Robin replied. "I'm applying a wireless download crack to the hard-drive. Should be available to you in seconds." He said as he plugged in a small black device to the rear of a computer. He heard the little 'blip-bing' ring over the airwaves and Oracle confirmed the connection.

"Okay, I'll leave you with the computers. They might help. I'm going after Sionis now."  
"_Robin, wait, I-_"  
But he had already disconnected. He ripped the lower section of his cape and tied it tightly over the bullet wound on his leg. Then he returned his attention to the thugs, glowing a warm orange colour through the blue walls.

"Boss! I got 'im! The little sucker's bleedin'!" The thug Robin had tackled was yelling up to the office, joined by a second who had helped the first to his feet. "He got me pretty good with some kind'a shield thing tho-" the thug had begun continuing but was interrupted by the miniature explosion of the device on his shoulder.  
The force of the erupting Snap-Flash sent the thug flying through the air, head-first into a cold, metal pipe, knocking him out.  
This made Robin smirk and grapnel up to the walkway where the wall had exploded on the very first takedown, and winced as his leg wound scraped against the metalwork. He picked himself up watched the final thug moving around slowly.  
"Come on...where are you?" He growled fearfully.

Robin followed his movement silently from above, and waited.  
The thug was thorough with his search, opening grates and checking inside vents. He even shot down a nearby cluster of lights, the explosion and sparks rained down on the walkway below.  
Robin quickly grew bored, and tossed a Shiruken lazily towards the thug, startling him. He fired off a small burst and then climbed to the walkway.  
But Robin was nowhere to be seen.  
Then a shadow passed over him and the thugs blood went cold. Shivers ran up and down his spine quickly and he slowly turned to see Robin, standing behind him, cracking his knuckles.  
"M-M...Mercy!?" The thug roared in fear before Robin's fist connected with his jaw and nose, stunning him and causing him to fall to the floor. It was swiftly followed with the knockout blow.

Robin turned and ducked for cover when he heard Black Mask roar and fire his pistol from the office window.  
As he stopped to reload, Robin tossed the last two Snap-Flash devices at the window; one either side of the frame, and detonated them.  
He heard Black Mask cry out as he was blown backwards by the explosion, through a hole in the office floor and down to the rail platform below.  
Through which the train had pulled up, the guns had been loaded, and was now beginning to pull away slowly.  
Black Mask groaned as he got off his back and began running for the train.  
Robin was up and running too, diving through the window and straight through the hole, landing with a roll. He stood and fired the line launcher at the rear of the train, which abruptly pulled him along and onto the end of the car.  
He paused for breath, panting slightly and rubbing his sore shoulder. Trains carried a lot of force behind them...


	3. Chapter 3: Black Mask

The train cut through the wind like a hot knife through butter. It quickly gained speed, which was disorientating to the young hero, who was still slowly losing blood.  
Robin opened up a line to Oracle again. "O?" He asked loudly, almost yelling. "Mask made onto the train, am in pursuit."  
"_Okay, Tim, wait for back-up. Batman is..._"  
"No time to wait. If I get Black Mask now..."  
"_Yes but, Tim, you're injured. Even Nightwing isn't that far..._"  
Robin frowned, "I can do this." He said, and opened the door to the rear carriage.

He was surprised at the amount of gun racks on the walls, and the range of weaponry stored on them.  
Rifles of varying sizes and types, including assault and poaching, rocket launchers, grenades, pistols.  
Then Robin noticed the thugs entering the carriage, at the opposite end.  
"C'mon, birdie." One growled.  
Robin straightened and withdrew his staff.  
"Look boys, the bird has a stick," the thug laughed, and the others copied him. "Gonna build your nest with that, Robin?"

Robin couldn't help but smirk at their lack of a good joke, but remained silent. Then they charged, and he managed to beat them back to a cleared central space, where he stood firm and beat them off, hitting them with feet, hands, elbows, his head and his bo-staff.  
It was then that he realised they had climbed along the outside of the car and were attacking him from both sides.  
Which Robin delighed in showing his fighting prowess. Often able to floor Bruce in training, to which Dick often tormented him saying that Bruce had allowed Tim to floor him. Tim only half believed it.

But soon enough, the budding young detective was the only man left standing, and proceeded out of the car, pausing to spray some explosive gel onto the couplings of the cars.  
As he ran across the cargo platform, stocked with crates filled to overflowing with assault machineguns, he detonated the gel and the car quickly lost speed.  
It barely drew attention from the thugs Robin could see in the next carriage, which had first-class plastered all over it.

He applied more explosive gel to the couplings between the cars, and then watched through the window as the thugs sifted through the guns.  
"So Robin's on board? And we got no ammo?" He heard one ask as he climbed to the top of the carriage slowly, creeping along the metalwork slowly, so he wouldn't suddenly slip, and fall.  
"Yeah, ammo's locked up. Black Mask says were not to open it until we get to the Gotham stop."  
Robin let out a breath again and stopped just before a glass sky light in the roof of the carriage. He reached down to his belt and pressed the detonator.

The boom was loud and drew the attention of the thugs inside the carriage as the glass windows shattered.  
"What the..." one muttered as they all turned to the rear of the carriage. Several ran down to check out the explosion.  
"The carriages...they're gone!"

"Someone, get to the boss, tell him R-Argh!" yelled the thug standing in the centre of the carriage. Robin had just broken through the skylight and dropped onto the thug, knocking him out.  
"Okay, kid, end of the line," one of the other thugs growled, pulling apart a pole on the wall and swinging it towards the young vigilante.  
Robin gripped his bo-staff and twirled towards the first thug, knocking him through the air and into two more.

They came at him in waves, groups of them jumping and diving fists-first towards him. He took hits, the armour across his chest and abdomen took the brunt of most of the force and dispersed it across the metal plates. And eventually he was standing alone in the carriage, holding the lapels of a thug as he fell into unconsciousness.  
Robin dropped the thug onto the ground and picked up his staff. He made his way towards the carriage door, to make his way outside. The train was nearing its destination, and soon Robin could be confronted with an entire armed army. Very out of his depth, and this time there was no Dark Knight by his side.

"Mister Hammer, if you would." a voice yelled above the roaring wind, and Robin paused to consider the implications of the statement. He didnt get to consider it for long, as a huge, meaty hand broke through the stained glass and gripped him around the neck, wrenching him through the remains of the door and tossing him onto the floor at Black Mask's feet...


	4. Chapter 4: Mister Hammer

A/N: I havent yet played Arkham Origins, my girlfriend is going to pick me up a copy on her staff-discount...I don't know anything about the game, except that fighting Deathstroke is a f*cking b*tch...So I'm working on assumptions. Also planning a pre-Arkham Asylum story focussing on Gordon/GCPD and Batman's relationship with a very CSI kinda feel...Keep reading and reviewing guys :) NO SPOILERS PLEASE!

Looking up at Black Mask, he once-again saw the fearsome, gang leader who had once led a coup on the entire city, hired assassins to bring him Batman's head more than 6 years previously. Robin rose to his hands and knees, and Black Mask kicked out, catching the young hero in the ribs, causing Robin to cry out and go back to laying flat on his front.  
"Some hero." Black Mask growled. "Ya look tired, kid. Maybe you should fly on back to the coup and eat seed while you tweet-tweet to your friends." as Black Mask said this, he made a bird shape with his hands and flapped his fingers.

Robin spat blood on his shoes. "Go fuck yourself, Sionis." he muttered, seconds before another kick was issued to his ribs.  
"GET UP!" Black Mask roared and roughly wrenched Robin to his very ungainly feet. "This is an audition...this is your chance!" Black Mask cried with laughter as the train began to slow.  
"Aud...Audition?" Robin asked quietly, panting heavily.  
"An audition...for fight club." Black Mask growled. "Mister Hammer...If you please?"

Robin's eyes focussed on Hammer as the big, former conjoined twin, snarled and gripped his over-sized sledgehammer. "Time to dance, kid." the Russian grunted, and Robin gave a sigh. Robin tensed up, ignoring pain in his ribs and legs as he did so, and dove out of the way as Hammer leapt towards him.  
Black Mask cried out in surprise and fear as this happened, and leapt backwards, yelling obscenities at the Russian giant, who scoffed and turned back to face Robin, just as the young vigilante rose to a defensive stance.

A quick, metal stock-check told Robin he had several smoke-bombs left, a handful of snap-flashes...maybe he could use his shield for something. Hammer looked like he could use the shield as a toothpick. Robin's hand went instinctively to his belt, and he felt the grapnel gun holstered there. He only just had time to react as Hammer swung his...hammer, and Robin dove.  
The hammer hit, causing the hauling carriage to shake, and the wooden surface to splinter and crack. Robin grabbed up the gun, aimed, and fired, catching the ugly Russian by the neck and pulling.  
Hammer grunted and threw Robin a disgruntled look...he dropped his sledgehammer and raised the tree-trunk-sized arm to the cable connecting the intercontinental criminal thug and the young American bird together...and pulled.

Robin groaned as he flew through the air towards Hammer, who was lifting the hammer from against his leg. Using the acrobatic skills that Nightwing had taught him, he kicked his feet forward, happy to see the right boot-hell connect with Mister Hammer's jaw.  
Hammer reeled backwards, dislodged the grip from his neck, and Robin dropped to the ground, rolling backwards, out of the way of the swinging hammer, watching, learning his opponent.  
The Russian growled and swung the hammer, using its momentum to pull him towards Robin. Robin ran and slid below the flying giant, pressing a snap-flash explosive into his belly button.

Mister Hammer looked confused as he landed, looking down at the slowly flashing device on his stomach, which began to beep and flash at an increasing rate, until it finally ignited in a small, controlled explosion, sending the big man back into his mob-boss, knocking them both out as the train came into the station.  
Gladly, Robin noticed that the Gotham City police department were waiting on the platform. And dropped to his knees as he saw various officers rounding up the fleeing thugs as they jumped from the drive-car.

The teen turned when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and Commissioner Gordon looked down at him. "You okay, son?" he asked.  
Robin nodded and used his staff to climb to his feet again, "Yeah…Black Mask said something, back there…about a fight club." He informed the police boss.  
Gordon's jaw tightened, "Did he give any details?" he asked.  
Robin shook his head under the hood, averting his eyes, "No…I'll look into some things, get back to you." He said, taking out the grapnel gun.  
"You look like you need a medic, son, you sure you should be off gallivanting around, now?"  
Robin paused, "Don't worry, Commissh. I'll be okay." He said before firing, and launching off into the night.


	5. Chapter 5: A Scolding

Robin, the Boy Wonder.

Under the current domino mask, one Timothy Drake currently carried the title.

He knew Richard Grayson. The original Robin, taken under Batman's wing for tutelage after the death of his parents, at the hands of Two Face some time after the $50m Christmas Hunt. Dick, as he was known at Haley's Circus, spent a few years at a boarding school, funded by Bruce Wayne himself, guilty for being unable to stop Two Face.

Once he turned 18, and finished at the school, Bruce asked if Dick would live at the Manor with him. Dick reluctantly agreed. He would spend his days listening to the latest rock music, much to Alfred's disdain, or exploring the grounds. This was how he had eventually broken into the Batcave, and discovered Bruce Wayne's secret.

Bruce wasn't overly mad, when he returned and found Dick sitting at the Batcomputer...playing a game Bruce later discovered to be called "RuneScape."

The training regime Batman put them all through was vigorous, deteriorating and draining. But that was the idea; an opponent wouldn't let up, just because they were tired. They had to push through.

As he slumped off the Redbird and onto the cave floor, Bruce's words rang through his head. "KEEP GOING. PUSH, TIM. AND HIT ME!"  
Robin swallowed, remembering one particular time when he had knocked Bruce out during a sparring fight. He looked up and saw Alfred.

"Let's get you cleaned up. Again." He said, offering a gloved hand to the teen.

-

"It was careless, thoughtless. You could have gotten yourself killed!" Bruce scolded the younger man. Tim had removed his armour and now sat on a medical bed in a small wing of the cave. Bandages wrapped tightly around his torso, some around his head, and several around his hands.

Tim grimaced, but said nothing.  
"Black Mask is beyond your weight class. You're lucky you managed to take him out so easily." Bruce said.  
The Dark Knight was still adorned in his armour, but his cowl had been removed. Beads of sweat rolled down his face still, as Alfred fought with the armour to tend to a bullet wound received from Deadshot's high-powered rifle.

"I did what I thought was best. Oracle said you were deep into a case, and Dick is in Bludhaven." Tim said defensively, "I did what you would do. I looked at the situation. I analysed the options and I took one."  
Bruce opened his mouth to retort but Tim opened his mouth again and cut in, "I'm supposed to be your partner in this, Bruce, not your little errand boy. I'm not your puppy. I got the job done, didn't I? Black Mask, Hammer and his thugs are all in holding cells at the GCPD awaiting transfer to New Arkham...you gotta start trusting me more, Bruce...I'm not Jason."

Those last three words hit Bruce harder than anything. He stared at the boy as he limped down the corridor and out of the cave. Bruce then lowered his gaze and gave a sigh as the armour loosened. He held the manservant remove it and winced.  
"He's not wrong, you know sir." Alfred said, "Master Timothy may be Robin, but he is in no way comparable to Master Richard..." he hesitated, and added in a softer tone, "Or Master Jason."  
Again, Bruce's jaw clenched at the name, but he sighed. "Tim has made the mantle his own. He is an exceptional Robin." He agreed. "Perhaps...like Dick...he's outgrown the role." He said thoughtfully...

_**To be continued...?**_


End file.
